News

Candas Schouvieller, CEO/Administrator December at Oak Hills Living Center brings hustle and bustle of festive decorating, Christmas parties, treats and an overwhelming spirit of Christmas! On November 28th and November 29th, Christmas came early for us when we were able to have Adept Senior Living Solutions come into our building and do some team building […]

Candas Schouvieller, CEO / Administrator On October 6, 2023, a survey was sent out to community members, board members and staff asking for feedback about Oak Hills Living Center and we asked what “skilled nursing” care means to you. Responses ranged from “Treating patients with dignity and respect” to “All facets of daily living assistance, […]

Candas Schouvieller, Administrator Oak Hills Memorial Foundation exists to enrich the lives of the residents and staff of Oak Hills Living Center. An assumption could be made that the Foundation came after Oak Hills, however, that would be incorrect. Let’s take a look at our history! On April 24, 1958, the first 21 Board members […]

Candas Schouvieller, CEO / Administrator August brought us many birthdays to celebrate and we enjoyed celebrating with all of our residents. It’s not every month we celebrate a 103rd birthday and in August we celebrated two! Both Dorothy and Audrey brought in their 103rd years with parties surrounded by family and friends. Cindee Krzmarzick, our […]

Candas Schouvieller, CEO/Administrator The past year has been a whirlwind! As I sit to write this, I recall how just 1 year ago we were preparing for groundbreaking on our assisted living expansion. From inflation to supply chain issues and then the need to focus on legislative advocacy we have been moving at a fast […]

Candas Schouvieller, CEO/Administrator Hope. Have you ever been in the position where you were cautiously optimistic with hope for a different future? At Oak Hills, we have so much to be grateful for and hopeful for actual systemic change to care for our community for generations to come. Sometimes we have to intentionally find joy […]

Candas Schouvieller, CEO/Administrator LeadingAge, our trade association, led the legislative session and advocated for nursing homes to receive a $52 per resident day to increase average wages by $5 per hour. For most of the session, we were set to receive $0, so we are very grateful for our grassroots efforts led by Dr. Ann […]

Candas Schouvieller, Administrator April was a busy month, full of advocacy, operations, and new beginnings. How do we find new beginnings amidst all our uncertainty? Our community provides those beginnings. Thanks to many hard-working advocates within our community, we can focus on our operations and strategy for the future. Between ever changing regulations and funding […]

Candas Schouvieller, CEO/Administrator Do you remember a time when you had a major life event happening along with all of the regular day to day happenings? It could be the happiest time of your life and still you feel exhausted. You think, if I can just get to the end of this time I will […]

Candas Schouvieller, Administrator Recently, I was asked by a staff member why I am committed to Oak Hills with all of the adversity we face? That is easy. Each resident who has called Oak Hills home over the past 16 years has left a mark on my heart. Several of our staff came together to […]

Candas Schouvieller, CEO/Administrator Each December we gather our management team together and leave the building to share a meal together. I couldn’t help but feel my eyes well with gratitude for the dedication and perseverance of the fantastic Team that chooses Oak Hills as their employer. From nurse managers to the business office teams, each […]

Senator John Hoffman from Champlin will be the Health and Human Services Committee Chair for the 2023 legislative session. Use the template below to contact him about the needs of our skilled nursing facility. Contact information at this link: https://www.senate.mn/members/member_bio.html?mem_id=1205 Dear Senator John Hoffman, Thank you for your time in reading and responding to the […]

On November 15, 2022, a group of 32 Oak Hills Memorial Foundation donors came together at Oak Hills Living Center for an afternoon of appreciation and an update on the expansion and state of the long-term care industry. Planning for the Growing Our Tomorrow expansion began in 2019 with a market study conducted by Zellner […]

Candas Schouvieller, Administrator Thank you for your support of Oak Hills Living Center! Your gifts, encouragement, and dedication to those who can no longer care for themselves in our community is greatly appreciated. January 2022 brought much excitement with the official launch of our capital campaign, Growing Our Tomorrow. The love we received from our […]

Candas Schouvieller, CEO/Administrator October 1st begins a new fiscal year for Oak Hills Living Center. Reflecting on the 2021-2022 fiscal year I paused and thought of the analogy between the windshield and rear-view mirror. It is beneficial to take a small amount of time to reflect on the past, however most of our time should […]

Candas Schouvieller, Administrator Fall is a busy time for Oak Hills as our high school and college students return to their studies. It is fun to watch our future workforce learn and grow. For many students, employment at Oak Hills is their first job. As these students continue their development we welcome back nurses who […]

Candas Schouvieller, Administrator In 2003, Oak Hills was busy fundraising for $300,000 to complete the addition of 16- 1 bedroom HUD assisted living apartments. Simultaneously, nursing home funding was in question due to a State budget deficit. Fast forward 20 years, we are fundraising for upwards of $3 million to add 30 enhanced assisted living […]

Candas Schouvieller, Administrator Three years ago, when we started planning for our expansion, Growing Our Tomorrow, we could have never predicted that ‘hurry up, and wait’ might have been a better campaign slogan! First, we hurried to complete a market study, then we had a pandemic and waited. Next, assisted living licensure changes hurried us […]

Candas Schouvieller, Administrator New Ulm is a wonderful community and I enjoy every interaction with our community members. Recently, we spoke to a community group who gave us some great feedback. They would love to support Oak Hills and are very excited for the expansion. So, if they move into our assisted living that is […]

Candas Schouvieller, Administrator Oak Hills Living Center cares for those who can no longer care for themselves and we do it with great passion and dedication. Providing 24-hour care for complex medical conditions in our residents; these warm, funny and loving human beings who have lived, raised families, built businesses and contributed to the community […]

Candas Schouvieller, Administrator Since our inception in 1958, Highland Manor has been evolving. So much so, that it evolved into Oak Hills Living Center in 1995. Recently, thanks to the library of Elroy Ubl and years of scrapbooks by Eileen Jacobson we saw first hand just how consistently we’ve held to evolving to serve those […]

Candas Schouvieller, Administrator Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) provides a monthly report called the Care Compare Five-Star Ratings of Nursing Homes. Oak Hills overall quality score is a 5 star and the quality measures is a 5 star. This data comes from the MDS (Minimum Data Set) which is part of the federally […]

Candas Schouvieller, Administrator Oak Hills Living Center is a stand-alone, non-profit long-term care and assisted living facility. Oak Hills does not have an owner, it is community owned and governed by an Operating Board of Directors comprised of community members. Our current Operating Board of Directors include Chris Jensen, Jay Vancura, Dr. Joan Krikava, Barb […]

Candas Schouvieller, CEO/Administrator Oak Hills Living Center exists to support our family, friends and neighbors who can no longer care for themselves. The community created Highland Manor in 1958 when long term care was needed in New Ulm. In 1995, the community saw the building was in need of major repairs and rallied to rebrand […]

We Believe Every Life Has Value Candas Schouvieller, Administrator The Oak Hills Operating and Foundation Boards of Directors along with some of the Oak Hills Leadership Team met on December 15th to discover our “WHY”. We had a wonderful morning finding why we support Oak Hills. We believe every life has value. That is why […]

Reflecting on Gratitude- Candas Schouvieller, Administrator Every year the New Ulm Chamber of Commerce recognizes one large business and one small business for Business of the Year. We are touched and humbled by our community selecting Oak Hills Living Center as 2021 Large Business of the Year! We had the honor of being Grand Marshal […]

Thank you for your support of Oak Hills Living Center! We are excited to bring you our first ever e-newsletter. If you did not receive this newsletter by email, please sign up by visiting https://oakhillsnewulm.com/oak-hills-foundation/ and scroll to the bottom of the page. We look forward to keeping you informed. Questions? Please call Wendy Lang, […]

We completed testing on all staff on Friday, November 20th.  We received those results on Sunday night and we had two staff test positive.  We completed testing on several residents that were showing signs and symptoms, which four of the residents tested positive.  These residents all resided on the same household.  Those residents have been […]

As you know from the letter sent out last Friday, November 13th we will be testing twice a week due to an increase positivity rate in Brown county.  We started testing residents and staff September 16th using the PCR testing through the Mayo Lab in Rochester.  We would receive the test results within 48 hours.  […]

We have been informed that 6 of our staff members and 6 residents have tested positive for COVID-19 from testing this week.  We have moved the residents to our Covid unit where they will be quarantined for 14 days. The staff that tested positive are in quarantine at home for 14 days.  We are staffing […]

We have been informed that 3 of our staff members and 1 resident has tested positive for COVID-19 from testing this week.  We have moved the resident to our Covid unit where they will be quarantined. The staff that tested positive are in quarantine at home.  Those that had contact with these individuals have been […]

Oak Hills conducted testing on all staff, residents and Essential Caregivers on Monday, October 26th and Tuesday, October 27th.  I want to let you know that we have been notified of a positive case of COVID-19 of one staff member and one resident in our building.   Our priority is to keep everyone safe and healthy. […]

We have been informed that one of our staff members has tested positive for COVID-19 on 10/26/2020.  The staff person did not have direct contact with the residents, so no exposure to the resident.  The staff person had minimal exposure to some staff, essential caregivers and compassionate caregivers.  Those that had contact with this individual […]

The Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services and the Minnesota Department of Health recently issued guidance that outlines criteria and makes recommendations on how we can safely re-open to visitors and continue to protect the health of our residents and staff.  The MDH guidance has specific criteria that we will evaluate to determine when we […]

As you have heard, Governor Walz made an announcement yesterday that Nursing Homes will be opening up to visitors on Saturday, October 17th.  What he failed to announce is that there is a lot of planning and specific criteria that goes along with the new guidelines.  We also just found out about the new visitation guidelines […]

Oak Hills conducted testing on all staff, residents and Essential Caregivers on Monday, October 5th and Tuesday, October 6th.  I want to let you know that we have been notified of a positive case of COVID-19 of a staff member in our building.   Our priority is to keep everyone safe and healthy.  We initiated proactive […]

9/26/2020: Today, a case of COVID-19, the illness resulting from the novel coronavirus, has been diagnosed in an employee at Oak Hills Living Center. The employee is in quarantine at home. We have notified public health officials as required and are following procedures recommended by the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention. We are taking […]

Re-opening guidance:  Based on a thorough review of the guidance from MN Department of Health, an assessment of our current status and COVID-19 response plan, and our commitment to protect our residents and staff, we will not be resuming visitation inside our building at this time.  Our decision was based on our infection control and […]

We wanted to thank Oak Hills Living Center for all they did for our Father, Elmer Rosin.  He spent the past four years of his life in the Rehab unit, Assisted Living, and the Nursing Home.  He passed away on March 13th, 2020 at the age of 97. He was always treated very well with […]

We have good news to share about outdoor visiting options starting Thursday, June 25th.  Thanks to you, our staff, and community, we are managing the risks of COVID-19 well at Oak Hills Living Center. As a result, the Minnesota Department of Health has provided guidance on visiting in our outside areas.  Indoor visits will continue to […]

As we enter into the 13th week of COVID-19, we continue to follow the recommendations from the Centers of Disease and Prevention and the Minnesota Department of Health.  We are happy to report that we have had no cases of COVID-19 in our staff or our residents. As the state opens up more business in […]

As we enter into the 10th week of COVID-19, we continue to follow the recommendations from the Centers of Disease and Prevention and the Minnesota Department of Health.  We are happy to report that we have had no cases of COVID-19 in our staff or our residents. The “Stay at Home” order will be lifted […]

We appreciate the continued support and generous donations that have been dropped off in the last several weeks; however, we need to start monitoring what is coming and going through our building.  If you would like to donate to Oak Hills, please contact the front desk at 233-0800.  Our team will evaluate whether or not […]

Oak Hills is doing everything we can to stop the spread of COVID-19 within our building. We have initiated aggressive proactive infection control measures and screening procedures to prevent COVID-19 from entering our building.  We are monitoring and screening all of our residents for symptoms, are practicing social distancing and have cancelled all group activities.   […]

Here is an update on the actions that we are taking to protect everyone at Oak Hills regarding Coronavirus (COVID-19). We have decided to close our building to all visitors for everyone’s safety.  We encourage loved ones to communicate with our residents by phone or video chat.  Our activity department can arrange for video chat.  […]

We know many of you are concerned about the spread of COVID-19 (the new coronavirus) and how it may impact us here at Oak Hills Living Center. At this time, out of an abundance of caution, Oak Hills Living Center is restricting all visitors to our facility. All of the doors to the facility will […]

I know that for some this can be a very difficult time of the year.  I would like to explain why I think it is the most wonderful time of the year.  The environment changes here.  We have carolers singing in our households, we have homemade cards being brought in from school classes, daycare, and […]

We have gotten to experience some wonderful food programs lately from award winning homemade sauerkraut to fresh sweet corn to an old fashioned lemonade stand we have kept our taste buds busy.  We will continue in September with a few more food type programs: 17th Naomi Pfeiffer from Lyons Creek Gardens will be here with […]

We are about half way through the summer and have been enjoying the opportunities to be outside.  We have taken 2 fishing trips to Sleepy Eye lake with the Sleepy Eye area sportsman boating and bobber program.  Residents are able to go out on a pontoon, and try their hand at some fishing.   We have […]

The Annual Ice Cream Social will be held on Weds, June 26th at 5:30pm in the front of the building.  The New Ulm Municipal Band will be performing, and ice cream sundaes will be sold.  This fundraiser has been being held since Highland Manor days when it was started by the Auxiliary.  The Auxiliary ran […]

It is exciting to see more students becoming interested in a career in health care.  We have partnered with several schools and programs to provide internship, shadowing, and clinical opportunities.  We have students coming from River Bend and New Ulm High school to develop job skills.  Other students coming from a vocational class at New […]

Once a month, the first Weds of the month to be exact, at 9:15 I get the honor and pleasure of being on KNUJ radio with morning host Brian Filzen.  It is an opportunity to share with the community things that are going on at Oak Hills.  In fact the name of the program is […]

We are all excited about the warmer weather, and happy to see the sun shining again.   We are having a welcome spring party today, complete with spring trivia, spring songs, planting some plants, and fruit kabobs.  We also had residents and staff that filled out NCAA tournament brackets.   It is fun to watch and see […]

The Memorial Foundation bowling fundraiser was a great success bringing in $11,000 to be used for Ipads and Ipods for music therapy, and also for some nursing equipment.  Thank you to all that donated and participated.  Save the upcoming dates: May 3,2019 for the Foundation Frolics with the theme of Retro TV, and June 26th […]

Save the date.  Monday, Feb 11th, 2019.  There are a lot of ways for individuals and businesses to participate; sponsor individuals or a team; make an outright donation of any amount; sponsor a lane; sign up to attend the dinner only.  The proceeds from the event will go directly to the Oak Hills Memorial Foundation […]

The start of a new year is a time for reflection.  What went well last year?  What do we want to change?  We do the same thing here at Oak Hills.  We definitely want to keep some of our favorite activities our awesome entertainers, church services, bingo, and of course social hour along with many […]

The most wonderful time of the year, that is the way many people refer to this time of the year.  What makes it the most wonderful time of the year?  That varies from person to person, it usually is because of being able to spend time with loved ones and celebrate the season.  For some […]

We like to have fun on special days and Holidays here at Oak Hills, and Halloween is no exception.  Everyone gets in on the fun.  We have a costume contest, and staff, residents, and even some family members dress up.  The contest is judged by the residents who get to view all the cool and […]

The walking path around the facility was finished a few weeks ago.  We are thankful we have been able to enjoy it before the cold weather comes.  The Oak Hills Memorial Foundation donated the funds for the project.  We will be making scarecrows that will be placed in our courtyard.  They will be up starting […]

Mary Henle’s aging parents were looking for a new home in New Ulm and they came to discover Oak Hills Living Center. Mary’s parents took advantage of the suite of services offered on the Oak Hills campus allowing her mother to get a greater level of care and her father to remain in assisted living […]

The children have gone back to school, it is becoming cooler in the evenings, and the leaves are started to change colors. These are all signs of autumn.  Some welcome the change from the hot and humid summer days, and some dread the change as they know old man winter will follow shortly after.  At […]

At Oak Hills we believe strongly in giving back.  Two of the events that we fund raise for happen at this time of the year.  Oak Hills has a Relay for Life team that raised $6,300.  It took place last Friday, July 27th at the fairgrounds.  Oak Hills also serves the pork dinner at the […]

The 4th of July is next week already.  We have several programs going on to celebrate Independence day.  Tues, July 3rd at 10:00am we will have a program in the courtyard with small fireworks.  At 2:00pm the day Henk Exoo and his wife will be performing patriotic songs.  On Thursday, July 5th Myron and TJ […]

It seems the weather has finally turned nice (knock on wood, we do live in MN), and we are taking advantage of it.  Gigi Rsydahl and family has been busy getting our garden area ready in the courtyard and it is looking very nice. She also held a perennial plant sale fund raiser and the […]

Oak Hills serves a wide variety of populations. The majority of populations we server, however, are older adults. When interacting with older adults, there are a few vital elements that we need to focus on: Person-hood: Older adults are individuals with a diverse life course, each an individual person. They cannot be viewed solely through […]

April is Volunteer Appreciation month.  Our volunteers are truly the icing on the cake, and make everything we do better.  The volunteers at Oak Hills do a variety of things.  We have musicians that come in and perform for the residents, volunteers that present about program of interest, those that assist with activities such as […]

We are excited to be partnering with Comcast for Comcast Cares day on Saturday, April 21st from 8am – Noon.  The initial project that we wanted to do was some landscaping around the Assisted living entrance and planters by the front door and patio area.  Mother nature has had other ideas.  We are hoping to […]

Humans are relational beings. Interacting with animals can meet many core psychosocial needs and can enrich the lives of all people, especially older adults. As people age, their emotional health may be impacted. They may develop feelings of loneliness, anxiousness, and helplessness due to moving into a care facility, becoming widowed or developing health issues. […]

February has had a little bit of everything;  from the Oak Hills Memorial Foundation holding its annual Bowling Classic fundraiser to celebrating Valentine’s day to being able to send staff to the Leading Age conference in the cities for continuing education, we have not been bored during this snowy, cold winter. Nearly 100 bowlers packed a […]

While most people were focused on the blizzard yesterday, we were celebrating the opening of our new Cafe!  We are proud to announce that our Cafe area opened on Monday, 1/22/2018.  The Cafe will be open 7 days a week from 7am-7pm with meal specials from 10am-1pm and 4:30 -6pm.  We are very excited to […]

One of the things that stands out to me, is how many people that I know and within our community that have hidden talents and hobbies.  We are blessed with a community of caring people that are willing to come in and share their talents and hobbies.  December was a great example of the different […]

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!  We continue to acknowledge our season of gratitude.  We have had a busy and fun-filled holiday season!  One of the things that stands out to me, is with all the events going on, the thing that makes it special is the people.  From our dedicated volunteers to people coming […]

Did you know that Oak Hills is featured on KNUJ radio the first Wednesday of every month at 9:15am?  It is a great time to listen to the most current updates of what is happening at Oak Hills.  The kitchen construction is nearing completion and we will let you know when the new cafeteria is […]

November Freezer Meals Cooking Instructions 1) Pulled Pork: crock pot, microwave, or use in your favorite dish 2) wild rice soup: crock pot or microwave 3) Lasagna: cook at 350 for 1 hour with lid tented (thawed!)… 4) Pot Roast: cook in oven at 325 for 1 hour with lid tented or slow cook in […]

In case you weren’t yet aware, Oak Hills Living Center in New Ulm, MN is a fantastic place to live, work and eat! But don’t just take our word for it! We’re very excited to share that our Administrator, Candas Schouvieller, was this year’s recipient of the ANFP (Association of Nutrition & Foodservice Professionals) Employer […]

The Executive Team at Oak Hills has been participating in the Performance Excellence in Aging Services, based on the Baldridge Framework. The Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence are accepted around the world as the gold standard for organizational performance excellence—a body of principles and considerations that when used as a management framework lead to improved […]

We continue to make progress on our kitchen and cafeteria expansion at Oak Hills.  We started to demolish the existing staff break room the first week in August. We’re as excited as you are to see it all completed. The additional space and re-model of the current space is going to increase the usefulness and productiveness […]